3 months after arriving in Colombia it was time to leave :-( I got a bus to the border town of Ipiales which took around 2 hours. This would be the last time that I'd see the soldiers standing by the side of the road, giving a thumbs up to passing traffic to let them know that the road ahead is clear and safe, a typical sight in Colombia. It was a very scenic drive with great views as we headed through the mountains towards the border with Ecuador. On arrival I took my backpack to the luggage storage office so I could go to see the famous neo-gothic 'Santuario de las Lajas', a church which spans a gorge.Got a colectivo to the village (15 mins) then walked down to the church, an impressive sight. From the front it looks like a normal church but is built over the gorge, and has a river running below through its huge arches. As you walk down to the church the walls have plaques dating all through the years in no particular order which thank the Virgin of Las Lajas. A local man says he saw an image of the Virgin on the cliff face in 1754. Pilgrims make the journey to the church, walking hours to get there. The plaques generally read something like "Accion de gracias a la Virgin de las Lajas por favores recibidos"- "thank you to the Virgin of las Lajas for received favours (answered prayers)". It was interesting to visit and I'm glad I visited as it was easy to do from the bus terminal.

Once back at the terminal I got my bag then got a colectivo to the border. Exiting from Colombia was easy, I got my stamp and exchanged my final 21,000 pesosfor $10 (a decent rate)with a money changer - I'd been quite close with my working out on how much money I'd need which was good. You walk across the border by crossing a bridge then enter Ecuador. It took about 40 minutes to get my Ecuador entry stamp as there was quite a big queue but it moved quickly. Next a taxi to the bus terminal to the Ecuadorian border town of Tulcan and got straight on a bus to Quito which would drop me in Otavalo on the way. This bus took about 3 hours and I found out I'd be dropped on the main road and then get a taxi to the town. I was a bit worried they'd drop me somewhere dark with no taxis but it turned out I needn't have worried about that as they forgot to drop me off! Luckily the Colombian lad next to me said to me that he thought we'd passed Otavalo! I went to ask the driver's assistant and he was like, 'oh yeah, I forgot, never mind you can get off at x and get a taxi back'. So I got off (by the side of the road), there was a taxi but it was just driving off. A local guy said he'd go and get his car before I could decline….luckily another taxi came by but I had to pay $2 to get to Otavlo whereas I'd just paid $3 for the journey from the border! Anyway the journey took me 8 hours from start to finish and I was glad it had all gone to plan, except for the little mishap at the end!

So, 3 months after arriving in Colombia I left for Ecuador. In case there is anyone reading this is wondering if they should go to Colombia I say go! When I first started planning this trip I didn't even consider including it in my itinerary until I luckily started reading about it in my South American guidebook and thought it looked interesting so decided to include it, which was so the right thing to do- I loved it! People asked why I wanted to go there and talked about the violence and the drugs, etc- of course Colombia still has its dangers; there are still guerrilla/FARC areas and the drug trade still goes on but it is a lot safer now, for both Colombians and foreign travellers- people just stay clear of guerrilla areas. Unfortunately I know about and have heard about people being mugged and there are obviously dangers for travellers such as muggings, etc but that can happen anywhere. I would honestly say that in my 3 months there I never felt unsafe, you do have to be careful and you naturally hope nothing will happen to you…..of course it could and does happen, but like I say it could happen anywhere.Going back to my original point, Colombia is really worth the visit and as they say in their slogan these days "Colombia…..the only risk is wanting to stay". Very, very true :-)